AERA Research Conference Grant ProposalPBL in K-12 Research Conference Downloadable PDF
Prepared by
Jason Ravitz, Director of Research, Buck Institute for EducationMary English, Doctoral Candidate, George Mason University Grant administration and financial reporting byClaire Adams, Senior Administrator, Buck Institute for Education
ABSTRACT Project based learning (PBL) has a long history, but recently there has been growing interest across the K-12 spectrum in the US and internationally. This is the result of perceived shortcomings in 21st century teaching and learning, and because theorists and developers have become more rigorous in their conceptualization of effective PBL use. PBL is now one of the most prevalent instructional innovations within the progressive K-12 reform movement, particularly among reform networks and smaller high school initiatives. Schools, districts, and sometimes entire states are implementing professional development initiatives, but without fail the most intense PBL adopters do not have a research mission and lack capacity. This includes reform networks and charter management organizations that have spent years and countless dollars creating PBL-friendly schools have no research staff or rely on part-time consultants. There are no systems in place to enable and accelerate meaningful investigations of pressing issues for research and practice. While there are a plethora of online resources to support PBL practitioners, none are intended to help researchers communicate or be productive. The AERA SIG for Problem Based Education (2012) –which includes medical and engineering school educators -- has seen a growing number of K-12 research papers, but the quality and scale of this work is not what it need to be. Our proposal is to build a coordinated effort to support research in K-12 settings by creating an online site for PBL in K-12 researchers and building a community of investigators who can share ideas and resources. We need to do a better job studying K-12 implementations of PBL if we hope to avoid implementation pitfalls and to foster improved knowledge and practice.
Proposed Dates: April 10, 2013: International and national gathering one day prior to AERA October 12, 2012: Indianapolis, IN Ongoing: Building online resources and small local gatherings
Downloadable PDF
Prepared by
Jason Ravitz, Director of Research, Buck Institute for EducationMary English, Doctoral Candidate, George Mason University
Grant administration and financial reporting byClaire Adams, Senior Administrator, Buck Institute for Education
ABSTRACT
Project based learning (PBL) has a long history, but recently there has been growing interest across the K-12 spectrum in the US and internationally. This is the result of perceived shortcomings in 21st century teaching and learning, and because theorists and developers have become more rigorous in their conceptualization of effective PBL use. PBL is now one of the most prevalent instructional innovations within the progressive K-12 reform movement, particularly among reform networks and smaller high school initiatives. Schools, districts, and sometimes entire states are implementing professional development initiatives, but without fail the most intense PBL adopters do not have a research mission and lack capacity. This includes reform networks and charter management organizations that have spent years and countless dollars creating PBL-friendly schools have no research staff or rely on part-time consultants. There are no systems in place to enable and accelerate meaningful investigations of pressing issues for research and practice. While there are a plethora of online resources to support PBL practitioners, none are intended to help researchers communicate or be productive. The AERA SIG for Problem Based Education (2012) –which includes medical and engineering school educators -- has seen a growing number of K-12 research papers, but the quality and scale of this work is not what it need to be. Our proposal is to build a coordinated effort to support research in K-12 settings by creating an online site for PBL in K-12 researchers and building a community of investigators who can share ideas and resources. We need to do a better job studying K-12 implementations of PBL if we hope to avoid implementation pitfalls and to foster improved knowledge and practice.
Proposed Dates:
April 10, 2013: International and national gathering one day prior to AERA
October 12, 2012: Indianapolis, IN
Ongoing: Building online resources and small local gatherings